Rational design of iron single atom anchored on nitrogen doped carbon as a high-performance electrocatalyst for all-solid-state flexible zinc-air batteries

Low-cost and efficient oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)/oxygen evolution reaction (OER) bifunctional electrocatalysts are vital for the applications of rechargeable Zn–air batteries (ZABs). Given the high catalytic activity of single-atom catalysts (SACs), preparing SACs on a large scale for ZABs is desirable but remains challenging. Herein, in situ formation of single-atom Fe–N–C catalysts on plate wood-based porous carbon is achieved via a facile Lewis acid pretreatment and carbonization process. Lewis acid FeCl3 pretreatment on the cell wall of wood not only produces abundant microchannels but also successfully introduces atomically dispersed Fe–N active species into the hierarchical structure. Such uniformly dispersive SACs on the hierarchical structure enhance the ORR/OER performance and durability. A ZAB using the catalyst in the cathode shows a high power density (70.2 mW cm–2, at quasi solid state) and long-term stability. This work provides a new path for the large-scale preparation of high-performance SACs.

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“…The value of SAC-FeN-WPC is comparable to those of other iron- or cobalt-based SACs reported recently (Table S3). − …”

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confidence: 99%

Wood Carbon Based Single-Atom Catalyst for Rechargeable Zn–Air Batteries

et al. 2021

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“…On the other hand, Chen et al pointed out that high-quality Fe-based SACs could be easily prepared via utilizing iron phthalocyanine (FePc) and polypyrrole because 1) the strong chemical binding between them could establish uniformly dispersed single-atom sites; and 2) their chemical components without oxygen groups could significantly avoid the formation of iron oxides, decreasing the percentage of inactive sites. [124] Based on those, a novel polymerization-pyrolysis strategy, omitting the acid etching step, has been realized to prepare Fe-N-C-700 catalysts with 1.29 at% Fe, which could deliver a power density of 70 mW cm −2 with the energy density of 833 Wh kg −1 for an all-solid-state flexible ZAB. [68] Besides, MOFs and COFs have been also applied as organic precursors to stabilize single Fe atoms and form porous structure owing to their tunable and porous properties, as well as their suitable structure for confinement.…”

Section: Nanostructuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Progress on Fe‐Based Single/Dual‐Atom Catalysts for Zn–Air Batteries

Liu

et al. 2022

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Among metal-air batteries, especially for aqueous zinc-air batteries (ZABs), have recently attracted increasing attention, due to their advantages with respect to the abovementioned shortcomings of the LIB, for example, their five-times higher (1086 W h kg −1 ) specific energy density, lower manufacturing cost (≈10$ kW −1 h −1 ), and lower toxi city and intrinsic safety derived from the aqueous property. [18][19][20][21][22] Generally, ZABs are composed of four parts, the air electrode, electrolyte, separator, and Zn metal electrode. As the main reactions on air electrodes during charging/discharging processes, oxygen evolution/reduction reactions (OER/ ORR) are usually limited by their sluggish kinetics, resulting in higher overpotential, unsatisfactory energy efficiency, lower power density, and poor cycling stability, all of which could severely restrict the commercialization of ZABs. Thus, to deal with this situation, great efforts have been afforded to developing highly efficient oxygen electrocatalysts with lower costs.Noble-metal-based materials (Ru, Pt, Ir, and their alloys) have usually been considered as the benchmark of advanced electrocatalysts, owing to their strong catalytic ability toward the ORR and OER, but unfortunately, their high prices have hindered their wide and large-scale application. Recently, Fe-based singleatom catalysts (SACs) and dual-atom catalysts (DACs) have attracted great attention. Compared with other transition metalbased SACs, such as Co, Ni, and Mn, experimental results and theoretical calculation has been confirmed that the Fe-N structure possessed highest ORR activity and outstanding OER performance due to the appropriate adsorption/desorption energy of the oxygen-containing intermediates during the catalytic procedure. [23,24] Besides, with regard of general Fe-C moiety and Fe cluster, Fe-N structure not only displayed lower kinetics barrier owing to the reduced free energy for the step from O* to the OOH*, but also the firm connection between Fe atoms and N atoms could take the responsibility for their better catalytic stability. [25] Based on those advantages, the Fe-N x has laid a solid foundation of serving as bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis, offering a promising strategy to construct effective air electrodes of ZABs (Figure 1). [26][27][28][29][30][31] In 2017, Chen et al. successfully anchored atomically dispersed Fe-N x on S-doped hierarchical carbon layers and were the first applied to ZABs. [32] Benefitting from the abundance of single-atom active sites, the uneven charge distribution caused by the N and S codopants, and its outstanding electrical conductivity, the electrocatalyst showed Pt-like performance toward the OER (η 10 , the overpotential at a As one of the most competitive candidates for large-scale energy storage, zincair batteries (ZABs) have attracted great attention due to their high theoretical specific energy density, low toxicity, high abundance, and high safety. It is highly desirable but still remains a huge challenge, however, to achieve ...

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“…[95] Furthermore, EDS and EELS can be used to characterize the element composition, content, and distribution of the samples. [101] Notably, EELS has a higher resolution than traditional EDS and can be applied . Reproduced with permission.…”

Section: Electron Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

One‐dimensional nanomaterial supported metal single‐atom electrocatalysts: Synthesis, characterization, and applications

et al. 2021

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Metal single-atom catalysts (MSACs) have attracted considerable attention in the field of electrocatalysis due to their maximized atomic utilization, high activity, and superior selectivity. As a class of supported catalyst, the type of support material plays a key role in stabilizing metal single atoms (MSAs) and improving the overall catalytic performance. One-dimensional (1D) nanomaterials are regarded as ideal supports for MSACs owing to many of their unique advantages, such as controllable surface physicochemical properties, large specific surface area, efficient electron transfer pathway, and great flexibility in element selection. Therefore, recently developed MSACs supported by various types of 1D nanostructured substrates have shown fascinating electrocatalytic performance towards a wide range of electrochemical reactions and demonstrated great potential in practical applications. In this review, we summarize recent progress of 1D nanomaterial supported MSACs, from material synthesis, characterization, and theoretical calculation to their performance in five different kinds of electrochemical applications. In particular, the major synthetic strategies of these advanced MSACs and their catalytic performance and mechanisms in various electrocatalytic reactions are extensively discussed. Finally, the remaining challenges and future prospects of 1D nanomaterial supported MSACs are provided.

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Rational design of iron single atom anchored on nitrogen doped carbon as a high-performance electrocatalyst for all-solid-state flexible zinc-air batteries

Cited by 41 publications

References 56 publications

Wood Carbon Based Single-Atom Catalyst for Rechargeable Zn–Air Batteries

Wood Carbon Based Single-Atom Catalyst for Rechargeable Zn–Air Batteries

Recent Progress on Fe‐Based Single/Dual‐Atom Catalysts for Zn–Air Batteries

One‐dimensional nanomaterial supported metal single‐atom electrocatalysts: Synthesis, characterization, and applications

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